I'm looking to take the easy way out in getting my little studio going. I got two 56 pin Elco to XLR snakes with the console, but I'm looking to connect all five Elco connectors up.This is a new area to me, as I'm primarily a video guy, so...looking at the myriad of used snakes on eBay and elsewhere, I'm wondering if all the console manufacturers used the same pin outs on the 56 pin Elco connections as Soundcraft. It does seem that most of the used snakes out there have a male Elco connector, where the 1600 I have needs females...all of which makes me wonder about the pin outs.It would save me a lot of time, money and hassle if I could pick up some used ones and not have to rewire the 56 pin.Any insights on this?thanks

There are about as many pin-out "standards" as there are pins on a large Elco, and 56 pin is not the largest....... seriously.Every console manufacturer has their own pin-out, and that's before you start looking at the support equipment manufacturers (patchbay makers, wiring companies, studios, etc.)

Your best friends here are the console manual and Elco / Edac tools, the pin remover being the most important. It's not an expensive tool and really there is no need to use crimp pins; solder pins work just fine. Get the loom that best fits your needs and sort out the edac/elco wiring yourself.

For anyone who may be searching for clues or answers I have posted a link with a folder containing the Soundcraft Edac pinout wiring conventions for 38/56 & 90 way EDAC connectors for the "Sapphyre" Console.I am not sure whether they are relevant to any of the other Soundcraft series but it's a starting point perhaps.I also have included the Sapphyre User Guide/Manual in 2 x Pdf files.Hope this is of some use for someone someday :)https://www.mediafire.com/folder/v5y6uzzo95ewb/Soundcraft_Sapphyre_EDAC_convention

Just to try and get some more useful stuff all in one place, here's a link to all of the documentation I have for the 2400 series - User manual with all block diagrams and schematics, EDAC and DB25 wiring pinouts.